says every state in the united states pays its workers on average more than employees doing the same job for a private company. and the group says much of the blame falls on retirement benefits. now these pension and salary totals vary by state. the report says the states paying workers closest to private sector salary and benefits, new hampshire, rhode island, vermont, south dakota, and wyoming. states with large of the gap, california, new york, north carolina, ohio and texas. for comment the american federation of state, county municipal employees referred fox business to a web post by the economic policy institute. their response? they say these claims are bunk and study after study has rebutted similar claims, if anything, public sector workers most of whom have college degrees or higher, are somewhat underpaid compared to comparable private sector workers. as for federal workers the congressional budget office find they make more on average until you get to those with professional degrees. in that case they make more in the private sector. for all federal workers cbo says they